The VII Infrastructure Congress «Russian PPP Week» was held in Moscow from September 28 to October 1. The National PPP Center (part of the VEB.RF group) and the Roscongress Foundation acted as organizers. The general partner of the Congress is Sberbank PJSC. About 1000 people attended the events of the Russian PPP Week this year. Representatives of federal and regional authorities, private investors, funding organizations, infrastructure companies and specialized experts were among those present. Over 5,000 people watched the online broadcast of the congress events, which was conducted on the ROSINFRA platform.

«Public-private partnership has already proved that it is one of the most promising mechanisms, and the implementation of infrastructure projects is an important incentive for economic recovery and growth,» — said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in his greeting to the participants of the Russian PPP Week.

According to him, the main task is to do everything to create a favorable business climate in our country, so that the state will continue to remain a reliable partner for investors. The prime minister also stressed the importance of the anti-crisis program to support regional PPP projects, launched by VEB.RF and the National PPP Center.

The fact that PPP is a priority at the government level was also reported by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin as part of his speech at the plenary session of the Congress, adding that for each invested budget ruble, it is necessary to attract as much extra-budgetary funds as possible.

«Then everyone will benefit from this, first of all, the residents will benefit, the economy will benefit, all the participants in the process will benefit,» — the Deputy Prime Minister summed up.

At the same time, it is always more difficult to work according to the partnership model, said Igor Shuvalov, Chairman of VEB.RF at the plenary session.

«We at VEB believe that great success is possible only in partnership. We have changed our business model and do not compete with commercial banks in terms of rates. Instead, we are forming partnerships with them — we have launched a «Project Finance Factory, we are organizing syndicated lending,» — Shuvalov said.

The topic of project quality and the related issue of local competencies have been repeatedly raised within the framework of industry discussions.

«We are constantly thinking how to simplify the procedure for preparing projects, how to accumulate all market representatives so that these initiatives still» stick together "and be of high quality. We have launched the ROSINFRA digital platform and are working on a project office that will allow us to successfully launch projects, «said Pavel Seleznev, General Director of the National PPP Center.

The development of a national assessment and certification of projects was another step towards improving the quality of launched initiatives. VEB.RF together with the National PPP Center and the AECOM company is conducting it.

«Investments in infrastructure will drive economic growth and improve the quality of life for people. At the same time, it is very important to take into account not only financial, but also social and environmental effects from the implementation of PPP projects,» — said Svetlana Yachevskaya, Deputy Chairperson of VEB.RF, at the plenary session.

While public-private partnerships have entered the government's strategic plans relatively recently, most entities already have different experiences in attracting private partners to projects. The situation with the use of PPP mechanisms varies greatly not only from region to region, but also depends on the industry. The problem of choosing between a concession and a government order remains vital in the transport sector. Moreover, in the construction of railways, modernization of public transport and the introduction of intelligent transport systems, there are still only a few examples of PPP, but market participants see potential in these areas. The Ministry of Digital Development of Russia plans to launch one comprehensive PPP project per year in the IT sector.

Projects in new industries for PPPs — children's recreation and tourism, where the state order and the commercial sector have always traditionally dominated, have great prospects in terms of business involvement. Sberbank intends to create a standard concession agreement by the end of the year and present it to the market for the mass creation of children's recreation infrastructure with the involvement of private partners. The Ministry of Education is also actively working on the issue of eliminating the shortage of school places in the regions with the involvement of PPP. The proliferation of concessions is hampered by the lack of a well-articulated public health policy.

The ROSINFRA national award in the field of infrastructure was also presented at the congress. The winners in 16 nominations were determined at the end of 2019. The educational program was held on the final day, during which experts spoke in detail about the main stages of the implementation of PPP projects.

Sberbank is traditionally the general partner of the Russian PPP Week. Strategic partner — VTB Infrastructure Holding. Official partner — InfraOne. Special partner — the group of companies «Education». Also among the partners: MTS, Spectrum, Dentons, Renaissance Construction, RWM Capital, Herbert Smith Freehills, PwC, Squire Patton Boggs.

A source: www.investinregions.ru